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Men’s basketball team looks to finish season strong
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The Boise State men’s basketball team controls its own destiny this weekend as they head into the final week of regular
season play.
With the Western Athletic Conference tournament looming March 8-10 the Broncos still have a lot of work ahead of them to get where Head Coach Greg Graham wants the team to be.
Last Saturday night’s loss against No. 10 Nevada, 95-81, was perhaps the biggest game of the season for the Broncos.
However, this weekend is without question the most pivotal. BSU (16-11 overall, 8-6 WAC) currently sits in a three-way tie for third place in the WAC alongside Utah State (20-9 overall, 8-6 WAC) and Fresno State (20-8 overall, 8-6 WAC). Should the Broncos win-out this weekend and finish 10-6 in conference play, they would lock up a No. 3 seed, going into the tournament. If they lose, the Broncos could find themselves in the conference cellar with possible first-round match-ups against the third or fourth-place finisher in the conference.
According to Graham, it’s all up to his team on how far they can go.
“Right now there’s about six of us that [control our own destiny],” Graham said. “Everybody is in the same boat. If you lose two you’ll end up at six or seven. If you win two you’re in third. If you split you’ll be anywhere in between.”
The Broncos will begin their quest for the number-three seed tonight, facing off against Fresno State on the road.
The Broncos take the court for the regular season finale Saturday against Hawaii in Honolulu at 5 p.m. (HT).
Luckily for Boise State, they are playing some of the best
basketball of the season coming down the stretch.
“We’re playing well,” Graham said. “We play well on the road. We’ve only won a couple, but we’ve been close in a bunch of them. Maybe it’s breakthrough time.”
Boise State is certainly hoping a breakthrough is in the cards,
having beaten both foes at home earlier this season.
“Obviously, you’d rather be sitting at home for the last weekend,” Graham said. “But it’s two teams we beat the first time around and we know we can play them. We’re just going to go have at it.”
Coach Graham said he hopes the Broncos can compete on the road the way they did against Nevada on their home court last Saturday.
“They’re [Nevada] solid and we played right with them,”
Graham said.
The top-ranked Wolf Pack played some of the most physical basketball Boise State had seen all season. Graham said he hopes they can use what they learned from Nevada on the road this weekend in preparation for tournament play.
“They [Nevada] kept their composure,” Graham said. “They don’t get rattled. They know how to win and they know what it takes to win.”
The WAC tournament will be held March 8-10 in Las Cruces,
N.M.
TATE CASTLETON
Sports Writer
